A wiki, in case you haven’t heard of such a thing, is a piece of
software (usually web-based, but not necessarily) designed to
allow people to collaboratively add, edit and delete content. Some
notable features that separate a wiki from a plain old content
management system are:
- Automatic linking.
If an entry titled “Accordion” is in the wiki, any occurence of the
word “accordion” in any entry in the wiki will be automatically linked
to the “Accordion” entry.
- Complete histories of every change.
Wikis keep track of every change made to them and make it possible to
“undo” changes. Coupled with a community, this feature helps to ensure
the integrity of the wiki and protects it from malicious acts while
still maintaining openness.
The best-known wiki at the moment is Wikipedia,
an incredibly useful encyclopedia which boasts over 350,000 articles.
If you’re looking for information, say a quick overview of the Treaty of Westphalia or Maimonides, it’s a good wiki to consult.
But what if you want to know how to win a kinfe fight? Or in a less lethal vein, how to fight and not get your ass kicked? Or even less lethally, how to win a hot dog eating contest? You know, useful stuff? Then you want to consult Everything2.
It’s not quite a wiki — where wikis present articles as a whole, you
append your own two cents to Everything2’s articles rather than edit
them.
Oh yes, you’ll find boooooring articles like a rather detailed summary of the Count of Flanders and a discussion of MP3 sound quality, but you’ll also find:
- A guide to clubbing (nightclubbing, not seal clubbing)
- What not to be caught saying when the room suddenly goes quiet
- What it feels like to be dissed by a five year-old
- What to do should you find yourself lost in Boston (me, I’d probably call Wendy or perhaps Skadz for help)
- “Nobody likes me / Everybody hates me / Think I’ll go eat worms…”
- How to summon Mothra!
You know, useful stuff.
